BATTLE OF OKINAWA

ABOUT THE BATTLE

• Dates: April 1-June 22 1945
• Location: The Pacific Islands and ocean
• Who was fighting: Japan against the Allied Powers

WHAT LED UP TO THE BATTLE? WHY WERE THEY FIGHTING?

• The U.S. wanted to regain land from the Far East.
• They also wanted to destroy what was left of Japan's merchant fleet.
• They also wanted the airstrips so that they could use them to launch bombing raids on Japan's industrial heartland.

Details

• There were over 142,000 people injured in the battle
• There were at least 14,000 people on the Allied Power side killed.
• It was the bloodiest and biggest of the pacific battles.

“It was a scene straight out of hell. There is no other way to describe it,” recalls Higa Tomiko, then a seven-year-old girl, who survived the battle.

After 2 months of fighting, The United States of America and the Allied
Powers won the battle.

WHAT DID THIS BATTLE DO FOR THE REST OF THE WAR?

• It was that last major battle before the Allied powers would have to invade Japan.
• It was the number of casualties that helped the U.S. to authorize the use of atomic bombs against Japan.

SOURCES

• Www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/ battle-of-okinawa
• Www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_okinawa.htm